Improvement in dress-shields



l. M PosTn Dress-Shields. N0, 140,538, Patentedluly1,l873.

g @fg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC M. POST, vOF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN DRESS-SHIELDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,538, dated July 1,1873; application filed April 1, 1873.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ISAAC M. POST, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Dress-Shields to be worn under the arm, of which thefollowing is a specification:

My invention consists in a wire-gauze shield to be worn under a personsarm inside ofthe clothing, to prevent the clothing from being soiled byperspiration.

I am aware that shields for this purpose have long been made fromrubber, oiled silk, and other like materials, but they are objectionablefor many reasons, among which are, that being soft and flexible it isdifficult to insert and adjust them properly, and almost impossible tokeep them spread out in their proper form and position; that beingimpervious to air they check all ventilation, and become very hot andunpleasant to the wearer and very offensive in their y smell; that whenthey become heated they adhere stron gly to the clothing; and, that whenthey become folded and wrinkled, as they generally do, they cause theclothing to wrinkle and fit in an unpleasant and unsightly manner. Now,the object of my invention is to produce a cheap and light shield, whichmay be readily inserted, which will protect the clothing fromperspiration,

and at the same time allow a free circulation of air so as to be cooland comfortable, and which will retain its shape and its position in thearm-hole of the garment. This end I attain by making a shield ofwire-gauze proper- 1y bound around its edges.

Figure l is a face view of my shield; Fig. 2, a section of the same onthe line Fig. 3, a view, showing the manner in which the shield isapplied and worn.

The shield is made by cutting from wiregauze two crescent-shaped pieces,A and B, one slightly larger than the other, and then lbinding themaround their edges with cloth or like material stitched fast in place,and then finally stitching the two pieces together along l their hollowor inside edges, as shown.

The gauze may be of any suit-able metal or alloy, and of any degree ofiineness, and may, if desired, be plated or otherwise coated to preventit from being acted upon by the perspiration.

The two parts or pieces may be made of any desired size and proportions,and varied in form as experience may dictate, and if found desirablethey may be secured together in any other manner.

The shield is applied and worn in the same manner as those now in use byplacing it in the arm-hole of the garment with one leaf or part in thesleeve and the other inside ofthe body next to the person of the wearer.

The ganze is impervious to the perspiration, and effectually preventsthe samefrom coming in contact with and soiling the garment, while atthe same time air can pass freely through it, so that ample ventilationis afforded and heating of the parts avoided.

The gauze being stiff retains its form or shape and lies smoothly inplace so that .there is no danger of its wrinkling, curling up, orworking out of position, while at the same time it possesses suihcientpliability and elasticity to conform to all the changing positions ofthearm and body.

The wire can be bent and curled into any desired shape, so that it willnot only stand` out comfortably from the person, but also assist ingiving the proper lit to the garment.

This alone willV be found a feature of great value when the shields areworn, as they generally will be, by ladies.

By means of 4the shields the dress can be given a smooth and unwrinkledappearance under the arms and about the breast and back, although cut ina loose and comfortable manner, or even when cut improperly.

While my shield answers perfectly to protect even the most delicategarment from being soiled by perspiration it has the advantages of beingreadily inserted, of retaining its shape and position, of allowing aperfect ventilation so as to be cool and comfortable, of assisting togive the desired fit to the garment, of never adhering to the garment,and of being'entirely free from smell.

Havingdescribed my invention, what I claim 1s As a new article ofmanufacture, the wiregauze dress-shield, constructed as shown anddescribed.

Witnesses:

PHIL. T. DODGE, EDM. F. BROWN.

ISAAC M. POST.

